Break-out tongs



S p I E. E. GREVE 1,775,343

BREAK-OUT TONGS 5 g INVENTOR Sept. 9, 1930. E. E.- GREVE 1,775,343

BREAK-OUT TONGS s Shets-Sheet 2 Filed July 26. 1928 INVENTOR Patented Sept.- 9, 1930' i i uni-Tao .sT 'rEs PATENT om-"Ice man n enavn; or nanevon, rmmsnvmul, As'smnon so on. warm surr'rr COIPANY, or rrrrsnuaan, rnnnsrrvanm, a conrona'rron or rnnnsnvnrm .nnnax-our 'ronss Application filed July 26,

This invention relates to improvements in tongs, and particularly to tongs of the character employed in the. oil and gas. fields in connectlon with rotary drilling apparatus for unrevolve the sectionand its threaded connec-. .tion' to be added by applying a pipe tong to the said section and rotating the tong and section b means of a rotating part of the r0- tary dri 'ng machine to which the tong is also connected. v

Indisconne'cting or breaking-out :these,

joints, tongs are also employed in connection with the rotary, but, owing to the tightness thereof considerable trouble has been encountered and various awkward and laborious methods followed in order to accomplish the and sought, for example, the employment of cathead lines connected up with the tong and 'manipulated by operators in an endeavor to start the unscrewing o eration.

The prime object o the present invention is, to provide a new and improved tong construction of such a character that it maybe employed in connection with the rotary for efiectively breaking .the joints without the employment of any extra means, notw1thstanding the degree of tightness the joints have been screwed to ether.

Further objects 0 the present invention are, to provide a simple, strong and durable tong having means for efiectively locking the tong to a tool joint without manipulating the mam tong handle or lever; a tong havin its. main handlemovable independently o the jaws of the. tong and provided with means cooperating. with the tong to deliver, u n rotation of the handle, a blow giant to start the turning of a ,latchlng means Fig.8, an elevational view part1 in section ratus showmg' the break-out tong 1928. Serial. Io. 295,485.

tool joint member a tong having an eccentrically disposed movablejolntengagingmember manually operabletodisengage thejoint member and automatically operable to engage the said member; and new and improved locking means for the jaws. 1 v

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be hereinafter specifically referred to or become apparent from a consideration of the following specification taken in connection with the accompanying drawing.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate applications of my invent1on:.

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a tong'embodyingmy invention showing it applied to one section of a tool joint;

Fig. 2, a side elevational vi w of the same;

vFi 3, a view similar to Fi 1 showing the positlonof the parts of the tong when first ap lied to the tool 'oints; 1

ig. 4, a top p an view showing a tong embodying my mvention applied to the u per- I member of a tool joint instead of to the ottom member of the joint as in Fig. 1;

. Fi 5, a sectional view taken on the line V4 of Fig. 1;

' Fig. 6, a similar view taken on line VI--VI of Fig. 4;

Fig. 7, a detail view of a portion of the showing aportion-of a rotary dri ing'appaalpphed to the lower tool joint section and a bac -up tong ap lied to the upper tool jointsection, and I Fig. 9, aview similar to Fig. Sshowmg the break-out tong embodying my invention carried on a tong post carrier and applied to the upper tool section with a back-up tong car- 'ried by the drive-bushing of the rotary applied to the lower section'of the tool joint.

Referring to. the drawings and as referred, the tong includes three aw mem rs comprising-a large eccentric carrying member 5, a smallhinge jaw 6. and a small latch carrying jaw 7 said members are connected.

and are assembled to provide the tong with a tool 'joint orpipe receiving opening of the.

dtsired size to receive therein'thetool joint or a section of a pipe. The large jaw 5 has its inner face eccentrically disposed relatively to the inner faces of jaw members 6 and 7 and the length of the inner face of the large jaw is substantially equal to one-half of the circumference of the tong opening while the combined lengths of the inner faces of the members 6 and 7 are substantially equal to the other half of the said circumference. These three jaw members are assembled relatively to the tong lever to open at a point diametrically opposed to the point of connection with the said lever. By this construction I provide for an equal distribution of Weight and effect a well balanced tong. The eccentric jaw 5 is provided at one end with a recess 8 adapted to receive a portion 9 of jaw 6 aiid an enlarged portion of a main handle or lever 10. The inner end of lever 10 is pivotally mounted on the bifurcated end portion of jaw 5 by a single point connection, as shown by a headed pin ll and has a movement independent of the tong or the said jaw as will be more fully hereinafter described. Portion 9 of jaw 6 is formed with a vertically extending opening adapted to receive a headed pin 12 by which the jaw 6 is pivotally secured to the jaw 5.

It will be seen that the opening through the portion 9 is of greater diameter than the diameter of the pivot pin 12, thereby allowing for a movement of the portion 9 of the j aw.

relative to the pin 12.

In addition to the portion 9, aw 6 is provided with a projecting portion 13 by which it is pivotally secured to a bifurcated end,

14 of the latch' jaw member 7; this connection being made by means of a headed pin 15. The op osite end of jaw 7 is divided to receive a latbh member 16 and is provided with a handle 17. The jaws 6 and 7 are formed with inner faces having substantially the curvature of the outer surface of the tool joint member to which the tong is applied.

Movably mounted and secured to the jaw 5 by curved raised portions or guides 18, the latter disposed eccentric to the center of the circle formed by the jaws when in closed position, I provide a manually and automatically operable eccentric wedge member 19, said wedge member 19 having flanged portions 20 adapted to engage the raised portions 18 of the jaw 5. Wedge member 19 is provided with centrally disposed gear teeth 21 on one face thereof,

and on its inner curved face 22 I provide two or more bits or serrated blocks 23 for engaging the tool joint member to which the tong is applied.

24 designates a gear segment having a handle 25 integral therewith; this segment is pivotally mounted on a pin 26 located in a recess 27 of jaw 5, and is designed to cooperate with the gear teeth 21 of the eccentric wedge member 19. Member 19 is a springpressed member, and for this purpose I provide an arcuate recess or opening.28 in the jaw member 5; recess 28 terminates in a shoulder 29, and disposed between said shoulder and an abutment 30 of member 19 is a coil spring 31.

Jaw member 5 is bifurcated shown at 32 to receive a portion of the T-shaped latch 16, its upper portion 33 is designed to engage faces of the divided end portions 32 of the jaw member 5 when in closed position. At its other end, the latch is provided with a socket 34 to receive an end of a spring 35, the opposite end of said spring seating in a recess 36 of jaw 7. Spring functions to urge the latch member to latching engagement.

A characteristic and important feature of the present invention resides in the arrangement and combination of parts whereby a sharp blow may be imparted to the tong, and through the tong to the tool joint member to which it is applied, by the handle 10, in starting the breaking-out or unscrewing operation. For this purpose the pivotally mounted handle is connected with the tong or with the main jaw member 5 thereof in such a manner as to permit of an independent initial movement of said handle relatively to member 5 and is provided with a nose or portion 37 having a curved striking face 38 adapted when rotated by the rotary to strike the portion 9 of jaw member 6. I have found in practice that the blow given the tong in this manner will be sufficient to start the unscrewing operation regardless of the degree of tightness of the joint. Fig. 4shows the striking member in contact with portion 9 v of the jaw 6 and the parts in operative position to continue the unscrewing operation.

A and B respectivel designate upper and lower tool joint members of the character usually employed for joining the adjacent ends of drill pipe sections, sections of the drill pipe being designated by the letter P. The tong may be applied to either the top joint member A or to the lower member B. When used in connection with the upper joint member, I provide inwardly projecting plates 39 securedto the upper faces of the jaw members 6 and 7 by screws 40. Said plates engage the upper edge of member A as particularly shown by Fig;- 6, and function to carry the weight of the tong .and prevent downward vertical movement.

v for locking the drive bushing to the base 42 upper tool joint member .the late 16 into locking of the table. 44 designates a tong-carrying post designed to be positioned on-and be revolved with the rotating gear ring 41.

In connection with the unscrewing operatron, a back-up tong is employed. In the form of Fig. 8 where the break-out tong is applied to the lower tool joint member B,

the back-up tong indicated by 45 is applied to the upper tool joint member and has its outer end or handle portion latched to the framework of the derrick or other suitable support. In the form of Fig. '9 the breakout tong is shown applied to the upper tool joint member A and the back-up tong applied to the lower member. In this form the back-up tong 45' is. carried by a tong post 46 mounted on the drive bushing of the rotary, and the break-out tong carried in a tong post 44 mounted in drive ring 41.

In the form of Fig. 8 it will be understood that upon rotation of the rotary in a clockwise direction the break-out tong turning therewith will cause the upper joint member A to be backed ofi of the threaded end of the tool joint member B. In practice, the. upper section of the drill pipe being disconnected, is suspended. from the derrick by suitable means, and the tool joint member A may be readily backedoff from the lower 'oint member B by the rotation as aforesaid.

When the break-out tong is applied to the as shown in the form of Fi 9, the rotary is moved in. a counter-cloc wise direction to break the joint. a I

Assuming'that the latch member 16 is disconnected from. the divided end 32 of the main jaw member 5 and the ton is in open position; the ton may be re ily applied to a tool joint wit out the aid of lever 10. by grasping handles 17 and 25 and drawing them towards each other to the position shown b Fig. 3. This, movement will carr osition and wil move wedge member 19 to t e position shown by Fig. 3, due to the coaction of the coopermem ating'mteeth of the segment 24 and the said r 19; at this time the movement of the abutment 30 will compress the spring 31 sufficiently, so that upon releasing handle 25,

the member 19 and its bits 23 will be automatieally forced into gripping engagementwith the tool joint mem r.

It will be noted that when the coacting.

' -1. A tong includinga plurality of jaw members, a lever pivotally mounted on one of the jaw members with a single point connection and movable indepen ently of the said member for imparting a blow tozthe V member independently of the lever.

and means for securing the tong to a joint member independently of the lever.

2. A tong including a plurality of jaw members, a lever pivotally mounted on one of the jaw members with a sin le point connection and movable independently of the said member for imparting a blow to the other jaw member upon rotation of the lever and movable with the last mentioned jaw member after striking the said member. and means for securing the tong to a joint member independentl of the lever.

3. A tong inc uding a plurality of jaw members, a lever pivotally mounted on one jaw member with a single point connection and movable independently of the said member for imparting a blow to the other jaw upon rotation of the lever, and means for securing the tong to a 'oint member independently of the lever lncluding an eccentrically disposed member, and means associated therewith for manuallymoving it in one direction and automaticallylmoving it in an opposite direction.

, 4. A tong-including a plurality of jaw members, a lever pivotally mounted on one jaw member and aving a striking portion carried thereby, a blow-receivingportio'n on another jaw member, said lever movable independentl of the first jaw member for imparting a low to the striking portion carried b the second aw mem r upon rotation 0 .the lever, an means for securing the tong to a joint member independently of the ever.

5. A tong including a plurality of jaw members a lever pivotally mounted on one jaw member, and means for securing the tong to a joint member independently of the lever, said means including an eccentrically disposed movable wedge member having teeth thereon and atoothed segment having teeth cooperating with the teethof the wedge member said wedge member being springactuated. n I

6. "A tong .including'a lurality of jaw members, one of said aws aving its inside face of a len h substantially equal to onehalf of the circumference of the tong openin an eccentric element mounted and movab e thereon, and the other jaw members havin inner faces substantially equal to the other alf of the said circumference, a lever pivotally mounted on the first jaw member and movable independently thereof for imparting a blow to one of the jaw members,

and means for-securing the tong to a joint In testimony whereof I aflix my si ature.

' EDGAR E. GR VE.

Ill 

